Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?RS: Because I love telling stories and am a visual person.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?RS: It is scheduled to show in Portland Oregon at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival Oct 5, so this will be the second showing on the big screen.

Q: What else are you working on?RS: Another Lovecraft adaption, but told from the monster’s point of view.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?RS: I can speak Mayan. Seriously.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?RS: Search my name on youtube, I’m the only Rion Smith.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?RS: Love you guys!

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?LL: I have always loved movies. From an early age, I connected with the stories and the characters, and began following actors and directors whose work I admired. I began writing in my early 20s, and instantly fell in love with it. I read all the books, and wrote and wrote and wrote, until I decided that I was ready to start showing my work to people. By age 32, writing alone wasn’t satisfying my creative urges, so I tried my hand at directing. It immediately became a passion that still burns stronger every day nearly a decade later.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?LL: We are screening the psychological horror film Mental. Logline: “When professional insomniac Ty (Emmy-nominated T.O.N.E-z) Brown’s music career hits a slump, he grows frustrated by his future step-daughter’s erratic behavior, and must confront her in order to bring harmony back to the household.” Mental has been submitted to the Telluride Horror Show and Sundance Film Festival, as well as a number of smaller film festivals. It is also being screened for a select group of Hollywood executives.

Q: What else are you working on?LL: Dream Hero Productions has three feature films in post-production (Strange Company, Battered, Sinners, Inc.), another in development, and we are shooting the short film Deuces about a hobo clown who confronts the grim reaper the weekend of October 20th, 2018.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?LL: Despite being a devout Christian, I have a tendency to gravitate toward the horror genre, where I find the most entertainment and enjoyment from a filmmaking and audience member standpoint.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?LL: The EFP has been a staple in the Denver filmmaking scene for a long time. It was the first place that was willing to screen my short films, and it continues to grow and nurture the local filmmaking community like no other event that I’ve discovered. I am grateful for the EFP, and the encouragement it has brought to my career through the years. Thanks, EFP!

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?JT: Movies have always been my passion for as long as I can remember. I’ve always wanted to be a filmmaker ever since I was a little kid and it’s an aspiration that’s stuck with me to this day. I make films because I enjoy making them. You could say to my face that I make the worst movies ever made and it wouldn’t discourage me.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?JT: You’re going to be seeing Not for Me, an experimental project that my good friend, Christian Hutchins, and I worked on for six months back in 2017. You can currently view it on Youtube, Vimeo, and my personal website.

Q: What else are you working on?JT: I have a script written for an untitled horror/comedy short film. When or if it’ll ever get off the ground remains to be certain. Aside from that, I have plenty of ideas for other films, but nothing concrete. I work part-time and go to community college and don’t have as much downtime as I used to so that makes potential projects rather difficult. I edit a lot in my spare time, but it’s mostly video game fan trailers or really crappy memes that make my inner child snicker. Those are always fun though and a really great way to refine your editing skills.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?JT: Honestly when it comes to storytelling in my films, I just kinda do whatever the hell I feel like doing. I’m a pretty weird person so naturally my films typically have a weird idiosyncratic sort of style to them. I feel it helps them stand out a bit more. My previous films were primarily comedies or quirky dramas and Not for Me is the first dead serious film I’ve done in this style. It was an interesting process to say the least.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?JT: I’m super ecstatic that you’ve chosen my film in your lineup. I think what you’re doing is a great way to get your work out there and connect with other members of the Colorado filmmaking community.